Louisville Takes Down Cincinnati in Season-Opener
Press Release from the University of Louisville:
CINCINNATI, Ohio — The No. 17/15 University of Louisville women's basketball team opened the season on the right foot with a 77-59 win over Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena Monday night. The Cardinals got contributions from almost the entire team as 10 players scored on the night. With the win, head coach Jeff Walz improves to 14-3 in season openers and is 9-0 in openers played on the road.
Sydney Taylor led the scoring for the Cardinals with 16 points on the night. Jayda Curry was the second Cardinal in double figures as she scored 13 points in her regular season Louisville debut. Olivia Cochran had a game-high 10 rebounds and added seven points and three assists. It was her 16th career game with 10 or more rebounds. Elif Istanbulluoglu scored seven points and had three rebounds in her collegiate debut while Kiki Jefferson had nine points and five rebounds in her regular season Cards debut.
It was a back and forth first quarter as both teams were getting a feel for the first game of the season. Both teams went on 7-0 runs at different points over the first quarter and the Bearcats held a slim 15-14 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes. Redshirt-sophomore Alexia Mobley made her presence known as she collected four rebounds in her three minutes of action in the first quarter.
The Cardinals opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run and they held the Bearcats scoreless until the 6:08 mark in the quarter. Cincinnati responded five-straight points but the Cardinals answered quickly. Louisville ripped off a 7-0 run in just 58 seconds and forced Cincinnati to call a timeout as the Cards opened a nine-point lead. The Cardinals held the Bearcats without a field goal over the final 5:39 and took a 36-22 lead into the half. The Cardinals limited the Bearcats to just two field goals the entire second quarter.
Cincinnati cut into the Cardinals lead in the third quarter but the Cardinals kept the Bearcats from getting too close with some clutch shots throughout the frame. Cincinnati got the Cardinals lead down to seven but that was the closest they would get in the quarter. The Cardinals held the Bearcats to 1-for-10 shooting to close out the third and took a 52-40 lead into the final quarter.
The Cardinals saved their best quarter for last as they shot 63.6 percent on 7-of-11 shooting to put the game away. Taylor scored eight of her 16 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting. Cochran grabbed four or her game-high 10 rebounds in the final quarter.
The Cardinals will return to campus and get set for their home opener over the weekend. The Cardinals will welcome the DePaul Blue Demons to the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, November 12. The Cardinals and Blue Demons are set to face off at 4 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on the ACC Network Extra.
(Photo of Merissah Russell: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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